Inefficiency Podcast

Joe Pug is originally from Maryland and came to Austin, Texas years ago to be in and around the storied Texas songwriting tradition. He has two studio EP’s, most notable being Nation of Heat in 2009. He also has three albums, Messenger in 2010, The Great Despiser in 2012 and Windfall in 2015. 

Paste Magazine said this of Pug, "In lesser hands, songs of this nature could take on the tone of self-help books, maxims of dubious value. But Pug's honesty and wordplay combine to levitate the songs over those empty, cliched realms."

He credits not only musicians like Dillon, Beck and M. Ward as his influences but also literary giants like Fredrick Beekner and Walt Whitman.

For the 3rd in a row, Inefficiency is providing a set of thoughtful questions to help you look back at the previous year. But for the rest of us, setting aside some inefficient time to be thoughtful can really give some clarity and motivation for your coming year.  Enjoy!

Nikki McClure is an artist who specializes in paper cutting. Her art has a simple but very challenging frame, to sketch an image on a black piece of paper, cut it with an X-Acto knife and make sure it all connects. Each image you see of her work is one single pice of paper! Her artwork invites us to feel something personal and communal. She makes a yearly calendar and children's books. She resides with her family in Olympia, Washington.  

www.nikkimcclure.com

On this episode, Matt talks about contentment as he travels back to Kansas City, Mo to see family. This shortened episode has a bit of everything, from ideas around contentment to mama guilt to good jokes and even better karaoke.  Matt Inman is the host of the Inefficiency Podcast and a psychotherapist in private practice.  He and his family reside in Austin, Texas. 

Andre Henry is a musician, theologian and activist who has pursued music and education in New York City and Los Angeles.  His music is electronic anthems with reggae and rock influences and have the overarching message "it doesn't have to be this way."

Andre moved into activism after feeling moved by the many police shootings, wanting to get his body more into the struggle against racism.  His own deep conviction is to be be a part of some type of truth and reconciliation commission in America so that we can be entirely done with our traditions of racial injustice and live into the beauty and equality of this experiment of a society. 

James Alison (b. 1959) is a Catholic theologian, priest and author. He has studied, lived and worked all over the world.

In addition to being known for bringing Rene Girard's work to the wider public, he is also known for his firm but patient insistence on truthfulness in matters gay as an ordinary part of basic Christianity, and for his pastoral outreach in the same sphere.

He has authored many books including Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay, The Joy of Being Wrong, Undergoing God and Jesus the Forgiving Victim.  He resides currently in Madrid, Spain and has a speaking schedule that has him in many different corners of the world.

Una Mulale is a pediatric doctor in Botswana, working in life and death scenarios each day. She was formerly the Director of Pediatric Critical Care at Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She recently completed a fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Pediatric Global Health.  She is the co-founder of Barona, an organization promoting the value of all human beings and aims to create Botswana’s first Children’s Hospital. 

Twitter: @unamulale

John Richmond and Victor Boutros are co-founding directors of The Human Trafficking Institute, an organization set on decimating slavery worldwide by getting at the root, traffickers. Both are former prosecutors of the U.S. Department of Justice Human Trafficking Unit. Their impressive pedigree is only outmatched by their massive hearts, friendship and desire for justice as a means to peace. 

www.traffickinginstitute.org

twitter:  @JohnRichmond1       @boutrosvictor

Sleeping At Last is the moniker of Chicago-based singer-songwriter, producer and composer, Ryan O’Neal.

You may know Sleeping At Last from various Films and TV Shows such as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 1, The Fault in Our Stars, Grey's Anatomy, So You Think You Can Dance, Criminal Minds, Bones, Believe, Vampire Diaries and many more.  

He has collaborated or sang with many artists including Jon Foreman, Billy Corgan, Van Dyke Parks, Paul Von Merens, John Goodmanson, Alanis Morissette and many more.  

Ryan recently scored the upcoming feature documentary film, “Many Beautiful Things” which will release in 2015, along with an official motion picture soundtrack.

Web:  www.sleepingatlast.com            Twitter: @sleepingatlast              Instagram: sleepingatlast

Doug Pagitt is the pastor of a faith community in Minneapolis, MN called Solomon's Porch. He is also an author of several books, most recently Flipped, The Provocative Truth That Changes Everything We Know About God.  He is also the host of the podcast, Tick, Talk, Take. He is a novice ultra-runner and lives in Edina, MN with his wife. He has 4 young adult children and one grandchild.  

Twitter: @Pagitt     Instagram: @DougPagitt

    Website: www.dougpagitt.com